Rolling my eyes, I picked up the shot and downed it. It burned my throat but warmed my entire body.
“This isn’t about Mike. I mean, maybe it is. Why can’t I seem to keep the men in my life happy?”
“Morgan.”
“It’s true.”
“He was my son, and I miss him every day. But Morgan, you deserve better. You deserve to stop feeling guilty for his death. It wasn’t your fault.”
My chin quivered. Before I opened my mouth to reply, the air in the bar changed. My body tingled everywhere, and I knew . . . I knew it was Blake who had walked in.
“What brings you here.”
I stilled as he sat down next to me.
Butch rapped on the bar with his knuckles. “Blake, the usual?”
He shook his head. “No, Butch. I need something stronger.”
The old man raised his brows. “Stronger?”
“Yes. Make it a goddamn triple.”
Turning to look at him, I stared in disbelief. He looked like shit. Like he hadn’t slept in days.
He glared at me. “This is supposed to be my place.”
“Your place?” I asked.
“Yeah, Morgan. The place I go to get shit-faced and drown my sorrows without worrying about anyone judging me. You’ve invaded it.”
I laughed. “Maybe you should find another place.”
“Why are you here? Butch said you’re only here once a year when . . .”
His voice trailed off, and he had the decency to look sorry for what he was about to say.
Butch placed four shot glasses down in front of Blake and filled them up. Blake picked up each one and downed them one after another. When he got to the last, he shook his head.
“Damn, Butch.”
His voice sounded strained, and his face was red.
“You asked for something stronger.”
When Butch walked away, Blake turned and faced me. He lowered his voice and spoke. His hot breath hit the side of my face, causing me to still. I didn’t even dare breathe. His soft brown eyes held me captive.
“Nash is my best friend. Do you know what he would do if he found out we fucked?”
“Nice.”
“What? That’s what you wanted from me, Morgan. A night of mindless fucking. No strings attached. That is what one-night stands are, are they not? There is no lovemaking, no whispered sweet nothings. It’s just fucking.”
I swallowed hard. I wanted to argue with him. Tell him he had a crude mouth, but I couldn’t. He was right. That was exactly what I had asked him for, and it was clear that was what was bothering him. The idea of me only wanting him for one night.
“I think you’re just afraid,” I said.
“Me? You’re one to talk. Seems I’m not the only person hanging out in a bar drowning my emotions. You make a living helping other people with their issues, and from what I’ve heard, you’re damn good at it. You know one night of sex won’t change anything. It won’t make you forget whatever it is you’re trying to forget.”
“I know that!” I spat out. My eyes darted to the end of the bar. Butch was lost in conversation with another patron. Refocusing on Blake, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I spoke again.
“I’m not here because of Mike. I’m not trying to fuck him out of my mind. I might have been doing that with Rich, but I’m here because I . . . I . . .”
My mouth snapped shut. How did I tell him I was there because I felt worthless? Like no man would ever love me or look at me like the way Nash looked at Kaelynn, or Tucker looked Charlie. The way Jim practically melted on the spot when he looked at Terri. But even Mike had made me feel like I was never enough. How did I make Blake understand that the one time I put myself out there with a man, one I truly was attracted to, he turned me down?
“Because why?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters, Morgan.”
I pulled out a twenty and laid it on the bar. “I’ll leave you be so you can enjoy your time alone.”
Blake reached for my wrist, causing me to stop. “Morgan, tell me why you’re here. Please.”
Tears burned my eyes. “Why do you care, Blake?”
“Because you’re—”
“Nash’s sister. We’ve established that.” I jerked my arm to free it. “Let me go.”
“No. I care about you, Morgan. Now fucking tell me why you’re here.”
My gaze darted to Butch again. He wasn’t paying any attention to us. He probably thought I was okay, since it was Blake.
“You want to know why I’m here? Fine, Blake, let’s get it all out on the table. I’m here in this bar because I foolishly opened myself up to a man I was attracted to, only to have him reject me. I stupidly offered him a piece of myself in exchange for one simple night of pleasure. One night where I could stop thinking about everything wrong in my life. Stop remembering. Stop blaming myself. A night where it felt like someone wanted me, even if it was just for sex.”
Blake opened his mouth, then shut it.
A tear slipped free, and I quickly wiped it away. “A night where I could feel like I was doing something crazy and fun. I wanted to feel . . . adored. Wanted. Needed.”
“Morgan,” Blake whispered as he tried to place his hand on my face.
Holding up my hands, I shook my head. “I get it. I’m not your type, Nash is your best friend, and all the other reasons you pushed me aside.”
“What?”
“Enjoy your evening, Blake.”
Stepping away from him, I looked at Butch and plastered on a fake smile. “I’m heading out, Butch. See you around.”
Although his face showed concern, Butch lifted his hand and let a small smile pull at his mouth. “You call me if you need anything.”
“I will! Bye.”
Turning on my heels, I headed to the door. The desire to turn back and look at Blake nearly had me doing just that. Instead, I pulled out my phone and picked up my pace.
I SAT THERE like an idiot while her words replayed in my head.
“Everything okay?” Butch asked, pulling me out of my daze.
“No, I need to go after her.”
“Took you long enough to figure that out.”
Standing, I pulled out a twenty. “What?”
“Never mind paying. Your money is no good here. Make sure she’s okay.”
I headed toward the door.
“Blake.”
Turning, I looked at Butch. “You hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
All I could do was nod and rush out the door.
Morgan stood there with her back to me as she waited on an Uber. I watched as the car drove up and she opened the back door and slid in. I was right behind her.
“Change of plans,” I said, pushing her farther into the car.
“Blake, what are you doing?” she cried out.
Smiling at the driver, I said, “Do you know a place called Jax’s?”
He smiled. “Hell yes, I do.”
“Jax’s? The underground club for members only?” Morgan asked.
With a smirk, I replied, “Just the place you need, princess.”
“Just the place I need? If you think I will hook up with some random guy, you are crazy.”
The driver’s eyes jerked up to look at us in the rearview mirror before he pulled out into traffic.
I laughed and leaned back, giving Morgan a quick look. She stared at me.
“I’m going home.” She crossed her arms over her chest. My cock jumped at the sight.
“You’re not going home, Morgan. We’re going out. You want a night to forget everything? Fine. I’m giving you a night to forget everything.”
I could practically see the steam coming from her ears. “Fuck you, Blake. I don’t want your pity fuck.”
“Oh damn,” the driver said.
“How is taking you to a dance club a pity fuck?”
Her cheeks turned red, and she looked out the window. Shit. She thought I was turning her dow
n again. God, this was why I avoided this with her. I would end up fucking things up.
“Jax’s is a pretty cool place. It’s only for the wealthy, so I hope you have connections,” the driver said.
With a wink in Morgan’s direction, I said, “I know the owner.”
Morgan groaned and rolled her eyes.
The driver answered before I could. “Dude, if you have connections, I wouldn’t mind a hookup.”
Her eyes met mine. “It’s a dance club? What makes it so special?”
I shrugged. “I guess that not everyone knows about it. It’s under a condo building downtown. You’d never know it was there.”
“I’d rather go home, thank you.”
“That’s your problem, Morgan. You’re a homebody and too afraid to take a chance at fun.”
Laughing, she glared at me. “I’m the one who is afraid? That’s great coming from you.” Turning to the driver she said, “Do you now I offered this man a night of no-strings sex and he turned me down? He says it is because my brother is his best friend.”
The driver frowned. “Yeah, I’ve got to side with him, lady. That could be some deep shit. Or the dude really likes you and is afraid of losing both of you if you hooked up and things went south.”
Morgan and I stared at him.
Looking away, Morgan said, “He’d never find out.”
“I’d feel guilty lying,” I countered.
She huffed and recrossed her arms over her chest. I couldn’t help let my eyes swing down and stare.
Fuck me. I wanted to bury my face in those breasts of hers.
Clearing my throat, I started to talk, but the car came to a stop.
“Here ya go.”
“Drop us off, and then swing back around. I’ll leave your name at the door.”
The driver smiled. “For real, dude? You have that type of connection?”
I nodded. Once the driver told me his name, I got out of his car then reached back in for Morgan’s hand.
She declined and got out on her own side and slammed the door.
“Good luck, dude. I have a feeling you will need it with that one.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I shut the door and stepped away from the car. I walked over to Morgan and placed my hand on her lower back. The instant rush of warmth raced through my hand and straight into my body. If my touch affected her, she hid it well tonight.
“Come on, it’s this way.”
As we walked through the lobby of the building, the security guy glanced our way. I smiled and turned Morgan to the left and down a hall. After walking through a door, we came to an elevator, and I hit the down button.
“This is the entrance to the club?” she asked. “How do people who live here not find it?”
“They tell you about the club when you buy a condo here.”
Her nose wrinkled up in the most adorable way. “And how do you know?”
With a smirk, I replied, “Because I own a condo here.”
“You do? Why didn’t you ask the driver to take you home then?”
Laughing, I said, “How do you think you would have reacted if I’d said I was taking you back to my place?”
She bit down on her lip and looked away.
“Exactly.”
The doors opened, and we instantly heard and felt the bass from inside.
After another short walk down a hall, we came to a stop in front of a bouncer.
“Lou, how are you tonight?”
“Good evening, Mr. Greene. How are you tonight, sir?”
“Doing good.”
He held open the door for us, and as we walked into the club, I gave him the name of the Uber driver and told him to let him in free.
Reaching for Morgan’s hand, I navigated our way through the crowd and to the bar. I tapped on it and Jim, the lead bartender, turned to face me. “Mr. Greene! Great seeing you. Your usual?”
I could feel Morgan’s eyes on me. “Yes, and a vodka cranberry for the lady.”
Her body pressed against mine, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. “How did you know that was what I liked?”
“I pay attention to things, Morgan. You’ve ordered it every time I’ve been out with you.”
“Oh.”
That was all she said. It was soft, and the heat of her breath hitting me on the neck made its way down to my dick. I had to focus on it not going hard as a rod in my pants.
Turning, I handed her the drink. “Come on, follow me.”
She took my hand again, and I tried like hell to ignore the way her touch made my stomach dip.
After making our way through the crowd and up a small flight of stairs, we walked over to an empty table tucked back in a dark corner. It had a sign on it that said reserved.
“Blake, this is reserved.”
“I can see that.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Smart ass. We can’t sit here.”
“We can.”
Pointing to the sign, she said, “No. We can’t.”
A waitress walked by and Morgan stopped her. “Excuse me, who is this table reserved for?”
The girl looked at the table, then me. The look she gave me said she was confused. “Good evening, Mr. Greene.”
I nodded and smiled.
Morgan glanced from me to the waitress, waiting for her to answer. “The table is reserved for the owners, ma’am.”
“See!” Morgan nearly shouted at me.
“Will you bring us a bottle of my favorite champagne?”
The waitress nodded and flashed a bright smile. “Right away, Mr. Greene.”
Morgan watched the girl walk away. The confused look on her face was cute as fuck. I slid into the booth and set my drink down. When Morgan turned and looked at me, her hand came up to her mouth. It had finally dawned on her.
“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to sit down?”
Dropping her hand, she quickly slid in. “You own this place?”
“I’m a partner in it.”
“So you own it. Does Tucker know?”
“He knows. I’m more of a silent partner. A good friend of mine from college approached me about investing in the club since I lived in the building. He wanted to make it different from the other clubs in town.”
“How is the club different?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.
“He wanted to put a sex club in the back.”
She choked on her drink. “What?”
Laughing, I added. “I wasn’t into that scene, so I passed. Instead, he came up with the whole underground secret dance club for the wealthy. That was an idea I could get on board with.”
The waitress brought over a bucket of ice and the champagne. I took the bottle and said, “I’ll open it, thank you.”
I watched Morgan as she took everything in while I filled her glass. She slowly sipped on it while her eyes moved around the club. The vibe was exactly what we needed. You could practically feel the sexual tension in the air.
“Want to dance?” I asked.
Chewing on her lip, she finally smiled and said, “Yes! I want to dance.”
We slid out of the booth and headed to the dance floor. I had no idea what song was playing, but it was a fast beat. Morgan, or course, was an amazing dancer. I had seen her a time or two at Sedotto the few nights she went out with our little group, which wasn’t often. I had the feeling Morgan hardly hung out with us because didn’t like feeling like Nash’s little sister—along for the ride.
After two fast songs, things finally slowed down.
“I’m dying of thirst,” Morgan called out.
We headed back to the table, and I refilled her champagne while she ordered another cranberry and vodka. When that arrived, I informed the waitress we wouldn’t be needing her for a while, hoping Morgan and I could have some privacy. The waitress slid the two side curtains almost closed, only leaving a small gap open so we could see out.
Morgan downed both drinks and turned to face m
e. “So tell me why you really brought me here, Blake.”
I smirked. “It’s the one place I know we won’t run into any of our friends.”
Her brows lifted. “Why does that matter?”
Morgan’s eyes were getting glassy, and I knew the alcohol was catching up. I had no idea how much she’d had over at Butch’s Place.
“It matters a lot. But I need to know how much you’ve had to drink tonight, Morgan.”
With a roll of her eyes, she looked away.
“Morgan, Nash is like a brother to me, and I would never do anything to hurt him or risk my friendships with either of you.”
She nodded, still not looking at me.
“But. . . .”
Focusing her attention back on me, she repeated me. “But?”
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that morning I showed up to take you to breakfast. Hell, if you only knew the half of it, Morgan. You’re fucking crazy if you think I don’t want you.”
Her tongue swept over her lips. Those blue eyes turned dark with seduction, and I could feel my dick getting hard. The table we were at was set back into a dark corner, and with the curtain closed, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to see what we were doing, especially if I pulled her farther back.
“For the last two weeks, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I’m miserable.”
“W-why?” she asked.
I let out a soft chuckle. “Thinking about you not thinking I want you, for one. Knowing I hurt you, because that is the last thing I would ever want to do. Then that bullshit you said about not being my type. Morgan, I’ve wanted you for what seems like forever.”
The corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
“What are you saying, Blake?”
I lifted her hand up and turned it so her wrist was inches from my mouth. “I’m saying . . .”
Bringing it closer to my lips, I let the tip of my tongue slide over her skin, causing her to suck in a breath.
“That if you want a night to forget, I will give you a night to forget everything. But I need to know what you drank over at Butch’s Place.”
My lips pressed against her wrist, kissing her.
“Um, only half a beer.”
I grinned and kissed her wrist again, watching her entire body shake slightly.
“Now, imagine that kiss all over your body, princess.”
Adore Me ~ Kelly Elliott Page 5